Wedding Professionals Blog

Passion. Enthusiasm. Excitement. We work in an industry that is driven by love and the invigorating feelings that go with that emotion. Our clients almost always bring this energy to the table when planning their weddings. And yet the process often wears them down and robs them of these positive feelings. As wedding professionals, it is part of our job to maintain and grow this energy, and keep the good feelings rolling. It's in our best interests, because happy couples contribute directly to our bottom lines by spending more money upfront, and providing good reviews and referrals after the event.

As I write this, it's Election Day Eve, and as you read this, Election Day will be behind us. I don't know what world lies ahead. None of us do. Regardless of our politics or anything else, uncertainty about the future affects each of us. It impacts our businesses as well, whether we are owners or employees. I've talked recently with a number of wedding vendors who report slow bookings for 2017, and while I know the wedding business is cyclical, I can't help but wonder how much future bookings are being impacted by the current political and cultural climate. How can we deal with this uncertainty, or any other that may come along? Here are a few tips for getting through these challenging times.

The holidays are gearing up, which means that 2016 is soon coming to a close. Yikes! Throughout this year, we have focused all our attention on exceeding the expectations of our customers, and in doing so, we have experienced both good days and bad days. Now it’s time to turn the attention inward, toward ourselves, and to reflect on what this year has taught us. To set the right tone for 2017, let’s look at 7 ways to adopt an attitude of gratitude.

Weddings and other large events are like complicated machines with many moving parts. Venues, caterer, bartender, photographer, DJ, musicians, florist, decorator, baker, transportation, dress shop, tux rental, beauty team, officiant, rental house, potentially more. If you're lucky, there's a good planner or day-of coordinator to help organize everyone and make sure things flow smoothly. But whether or not there's a planner, each part of this machine can take steps to ensure the event comes off correctly. We do this by cultivating a team mentality among the vendors with whom we work directly. In addition to helping us get our own jobs done and ensuring success for the event, working towards a team feeling generates long- term benefits for our business. Other vendors start to feel like partners, making for easier events in the future, plus potential referrals, positive social media mentions, and collaborations or future employment.

Author and poet Maya Angelou once stated: “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

Though this adage rings true across most spectrums in business, and indeed in life, it is especially important in the wedding industry and through daily interactions with our customers. Weddings are based in emotions and since making people feel good about their experience with us, providing an exemplary customer experience is vital for future business and may lead to residual business by way of reviews and referrals. I’m not referring to aspects of your business such as knowledgeable and friendly staff and making good on promises.

Have you ever encountered a salesperson that just didn't get it, or have you heard of the old stigma that surrounds used car salesman? Ha, I know I have for both, and when I think of our current roles in the wedding industry, I surely don't want our clients walking away with that thought in their mind.What is it about a good salesperson that is both memorable, and closes the deal? Sure, they're probably charismatic, understanding and likely have a way with words, but the majority of sales people I have worked with in all industries that rock the close do 3 things to sell a solution rather than their product.